BRITISH NEWSPAPERS SAY RAF, DUTCH AIR FORCE CHASED GIANT UFO

The London newspapers Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail
reported this week that jet interceptors of the Royal Air
Force and the Netherlands Air Force had pursued a giant
triangular UFO over the North Sea.

According to the Daily Mail, the phased-array radar
network at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire picked up
an "unusual craft (that was) tracked flying in a zigzag
pattern at 17,000 miles per hour (27,200 kilometers per
hour) over the North Sea."

An RAF fighter squadron was sent to intercept the
object. The Netherlands Air Force "also tracked the UFO
but the two (Dutch) F-16 fighters scrambled to intercept
the object were unable to keep up" with it.

The UFO dodged the Dutch fighters, increasing its
speed to 24,000 miles per hour (38,400 kilometers per
hour), and shot away to the northeast, heading for the
Atlantic Ocean.

"RAF officials were said to be baffled by the object...
'It was definitely under control, judging by the various
manoeuvres executed,' said a spokesman. 'It appeared
to be triangular and was around the size of a battleship
(about 900 feet long) (273 meters--J.T.).'"

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Tapes to be shown
to British and American experts are said to show objects
that change shape and in mid-air and a battleship-sized
aircraft traveling at 33 times the speed of sound."

The presentation of the radar tapes will be made in
June at the Space Symposium to be held at the Air
Warfare Center at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire.

The newspaper articles appeared on Monday,
April 27, 1998. The RAF Press Office denied that a
joint air operation against a giant UFO had taken place,
adding, "Yes, there is a conference at the Air Warfare
Center at RAF Cranwell in June, but this is to discuss
military strategies in outer space--not UFOs."

The Daily Telegraph said Wednesday, April 29,
that it stands by its story and its "RAF source."

According to Graham W. Birdsall, editor of the UK's
UFO Magazine, the "RAF source" is Philip Burden, a
former Ministry of Defence employee who served as
editor of the in-house RAF publication RAF News
ten years ago. (See the Daily Telegraph for April 27,
1998, "RAF Spots Speeding UFOs with New Radar,"
and the Daily Mail for April 27, 1998, "24,000 MPH
UFO Buzzes Britain." Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp,
Graham W. Birdsall and Dave Clarke of BUFORA for
making the newspaper articles available.)

FRENCH UFOLOGISTS STUDY MISSING-TIME ENCOUNTER

French ufologists are studying a UFO encounter
four men had back in January in a rural area about
72 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Paris.

The incident took place near Grisy-les-Platres
on January 10, 1998. The town is in the department
Val d'Oise, near Genicourt and Pontoise.

D. Bruno, 62, a retired aviation technician for Air
France, went on a hunting trip that day with three
companions. In two cars, the men drove north on
Chaussee (local road) D27.

As they approached Grisy-les-Platres, Bruno
reported, "I noticed before me a series of lights as
bright as the moon. This was very intriguing as the
disposition of the lights in the sky was very strange.
As we approached the object, we wondered what it
could be. It resembled nothing within the scope of
our knowledge."

"The lights consisted of linear luminous portholes
from (measuring) 5 by 3 meters spaced on an enormous
black mass that was an estimated 45 meters (139 feet)
wide, according to my professional experience. The
object was at the treetops at a height of 20 meters
(67 feet) and hovering over the road. It must have weighed
thousands of tons."

"I opened my (side) window in order to hear the sound.
I leaned forward the looked underneath the object. The
object was truly enormous and blocked my view of the
sky. There was a central part of the vast construction that
was a lighter shade of gray than the rest, and I thought
that it might be a sort of tire--it was clearly octagonal. I
could plainly see more of the enormous lights beneath it.
From that moment on, however, I remember no more
of what happened."

The next thing Bruno knew, he was driving on D27
four kilometers (two miles) past Grisy-les-Platres. "I
stopped the car and was startled to find that I was
three kilometers past our rendezvous point. My
colleagues were also in the same bizarre state."

On January 23, 1998, thirteen days after the UFO
encounter, Bruno added, "I consulted a doctor when
traces of burns suddenly appeared on the left side of
my face and following an eye infection." (Merci
beaucoup a Franck Marie et Banque OVNI pour
cette histoire.)

UFOs SEEN REPEATEDLY IN GRAFTON, NEW SOUTH WALES

Multiple UFOs have been seen repeatedly over and
near Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, since the
beginning of April.

On Monday, April 6, 1998, ufologist Barry Taylor
reported that "while skywatching I observed a group of
eight 'star' like objects moving in formation...All eight
objects would drop back, move across and then forward
within the formation, weaving around each other."

The UFO formation was seen just west of Grafton at
8 p.m., and the objects were heading south at an estimated
altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 feet.

On Saturday, April 18, 1998, at 7:10 p.m., Taylor spotted
another formation, "same size group...at about 1,000 feet
or less" heading south. The object traveled at one kilometer
per second, or 3,600 kilometers per hour (2,160 miles per
hour).

On Sunday, April 19, 1998, at 6:35 p.m., Taylor
reported, "I decided to begin skywatching early and I am
glad that I did. Directly overhead at an altitude of about
4,000 feet, a large V formation of about 30 objects was
moving south. Each object was holding its position...
but 'buffeting' a little in perpendicular. Their colour was a
moderately bright yellowish-white. The formation's
size was about 15 centimeters (8 inches) at arm's length.
I took five photos during the 10-second sighting."

On Monday, April 20, 1998, at 6:50 p.m., Taylor
was ready for another photo shoot. Pictures of the big
formation taken with 400 ASA Fuji film hadn't come out,
so he switched to 800 ASA for his Canon 55mm camera
with its f2 lens.

That night, he spied "a group of seven or eight UFOs.
They came from the north, turned west just before the
Grafton city limits and headed north again. They were
moving very fast, and the formation shifted from horizontal
to vertical...I took about a dozen photos of the first pass,
and the shutter speed was 1/15 second to 1/8 second."

On Tuesday, April 21, 1998, Taylor spied a group
of UFOs at 9:20 p.m. "at approximately 6,000 to 8,000
feet, heading south in V formation. Speed was about
5,000 kilometers per hour (3,000 miles per hour) and
a second group passed by 20 seconds later."

Plotting their course on a map, Taylor calculated
that an unchanged course would take the UFOs to
Sydney or Katoomba, N.S.W. Grafton is located
400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Sydney. (See
the newsletter Australian UFO Reports and
Experiences #2 for May, 1998. Many thanks to
editor Robert Frola for letting UFO ROUNDUP quote
from his newsletter.)

(Editor's Note: Katoomba has been the Number One
site for UFO encounters in Australia for the past
fifty years.)

COW FOUND MUTILATED IN CENTRAL LOUISIANA

The night of Sunday, April 5, 1998, a 1,100-lb.
cow was stabbed to death and mutilated in a
pasture near Boyce, Louisiana (population 1,361).

According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the
perpetrator "removed its genitals and udder, but
there were only a few drops of blood where a pool
might have been expected."

"Whoever killed the cow Sunday may have
drained the blood from knife wound in its neck, or
may have mutilated it after it died, investigators
said..."

"'I would tend to believe that it could be some
kind of religious cult. I can't say that for sure. But
I would think it has something to do with it,' Rapides
Parish sheriff's detective Buddy Willis said Tuesday,"
April 7, 1998.

"Gary Dunn, an investigator for the Louisiana
Livestock Brand Commission, said he thinks the cow
was tranquilized and killed, then the blood was
drained and taken away."

"'That's strictly a presumption,' he said."

"The cow was three to four years old and
reportedly healthy."

"The pasture gate was locked, so whoever killed
the cow had to jump the gate, Dunn said."

"Another odd feature: There were no signs of a
struggle, and tiny yellow flowers around the body
stood straight, indicating that the cow had not been
dragged anywhere."

Boyce is on Interstate Highway 49 approximately
227 miles (361 kilometers) north of New Orleans.
(See the Baton Rouge Advocate for April 9, 1998.
Many thanks to Lou Farrish of UFO NEWSCLIPPING
SERVICE for this story.)

GIANT OCTAGONAL UFO SEEN IN ROSAMOND, CALIFORNIA

On Wednesday, April 22, 1998, at 9:15 p.m., a
gigantic octagonal-shaped UFO was seen hovering
over Albertson's Grocery Store in Rosamond,
California (population 7,430).

"The description was of a large object, not quite
octagonal in shape, between 100 yards to 200 yards
(90 to 180 meters) with bright orange and yellow lights
around" its outer edge.

As the object hovered, "it made no sound and its
lights caused motorists to park and gawk, and some
to call the newspaper."

According to copy chief Jane Treece of the
Antelope Valley Press, calls began coming in at
about 9 p.m. "After the first couple of calls, we said,
'Yeah, OK, sure,' Treece said, 'But between 9:15 and
11 (p.m.) we received a dozen calls from people who
were setting on their way to Albertson's to do some
shopping or who were eating at the Taco Bell.'"

On Friday, the Kerns County Sheriff's Department
office in Rosamond "said they had no reports of such
a sighting."

U.S. Air Force spokesperson "Lorraine Sanders
said she, too, had no information on the event."

"Edwards Air Force Base public information officer
Gary Hatch said base operators reported no flights
scheduled in that area for that time of night." (See
the Antelope Valley Press for April 23, 1998, "Residents
Report Flying Craft." Many thanks to Bill Hamilton for
the newspaper article.)

MORE UFOs REPORTED IN GEORGIA

On Saturday, April 25, 1998, at 11:50 p.m.,
Kevin M. and his brother were at home in Comer,
Georgia (population 939) when they "observed a
reddish light zigzagging at his speed, moving
across the sky at approximately 40 degrees above
the southern horizon. Viewed by the naked eye
and with 7X35 binoculars, the stars appeared as
faint images compared to the object."

Kevin, an astronomy major in college, said,
"I know the difference between a planet, heavenly
body, and a flying object," adding that the "light
remained horizontal relationship to the Earth's
surface the entire time and disappeared at 12:30
a.m. in the southern sky at around 20 to 30 degrees
above the horizon."

Comer is located at the junction of Highways 22
and 72, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) east of
Atlanta. (Many thanks to Tim Hagemeister of
NACOMM for this report.)

On April 1, 1998, at 10 p.m., a UFO "described
as looking like a huge flying dinner plate was
reported 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of LaGrange,
Georgia (population 23,547)."

About an hour later, the female witness saw
"mysterious bright lights" to the north-northeast.
"The large non-blinking light sat low on the horizon for
several minutes Grabbing a pair of binoculars, the
woman watched the light" which she described as
"about the size of Venus" for "over a minute," after
which "it 'zipped' away to the east."

Two days earlier, on March 31, 1998, at 8:30 p.m.,
a saucer-shaped UFO was "seen hovering over a
clover field near a stock pond" near Stovall, Ga., 10 miles
(16 kilometers) southeast of LaGrange.

"'It was a round thing that had a light going round
and round,' the witness reported, having observed it
from his car. 'Even though it took less than a minute
to turn the car around, the UFO was gone.'"

Georgia ufologist John Thompson said, "This is
the exact same spot where a daylight Valley-type
(i.e. a thimble-shaped object similar to the one
photographed in Valley, Alabama--J.T.) UFO was
seen by a man and his son in April of 1996."

LaGrange is located 64 miles (102 kilometers)
southwest of Atlanta. (See Filer's Files #17 for 1998.
Many thanks to George A. Filer of MUFON and
John Thompson for these reports.)

DUNCAN VIDEOTAPES UFO OVER HIGH ROCK LAKE

On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, at 12:15 a.m.,
Stefan Duncan, editor of American UFO Newsletter,
stopped his truck near the intersection of Mack
Road and Bringle Ferry Road in Salisbury, North
Carolina (population 23,087) when he spied a
mysterious light in the sky.

"I was on my way to High Rock Lake," the site
of many UFO sightings since December 1997, Duncan
reported, "This craft was sitting stationary when I
first viewed it...I jumped out of my truck and I grabbed
my videocamera...The craft was moving at 30 miles per
hour (48 kilometers per four)--that's a wild estimate.
It moved to the right of me and began to approach."

By the time it reached Duncan's location, the UFO
resembled an object with this configuration: o 0

"Both lights were white," he added, "The first light
was much brighter. At the front tip of the craft was a
red, diffused blinking light."

At first Duncan thought it was a slow-flying airplane
or a helicopter. "But then, to my amazement, the craft
began to roll over and revealed it was a triangular shape.
At each corner of the craft was a single white light that
appeared to be right at the tip. The triangular-shaped
craft turned completely over and began flying upside
down. It continued in this position until it faded from
my sight..The rollover came in very clear on the
videotape."

High Rock Lake is about 10 miles east of
Salisbury, a small city on Highway 29 about
115 miles (184 kilometers) west of Raleigh.
(See American UFO Newsletter #8 for 1998. Many
thanks to Stefan Duncan for this report.)

TRIANGULAR UFO SEEN EAST OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT

Early in April, a 39-year-old man was driving east
on Route 147 from Meriden to Middletown, Conn.
(population 42,762) at 9 p.m. when he spotted an
unusual object hovering over the Mount Higby
Reservoir.

"He saw an object hovering over the water and
its reflection was observed in the water. There were
three lights in triangular formation, which were very
bright."

According to Mark Cashman and Bruce Tilden,
who are investigating the case for Connecticut MUFON,
the UFO "was about 50 feet above the reservoir. Object
was approximately 100 feet (30 meters) across. It is
estimated that the pine trees around the reservoir are
between 30 and 40 feet high. The witness said the
lights on the object were slightly bluish-white, closer
to flourescent light than halogen."

The witness observed the UFO from the car's
driver-side window. The object turned off its lights
as his car drove past.

The Mount Higby reservoir is approximately
four miles west of Middletown, a small city about
17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Hartford, the
state capital. (See American UFO Newsletter #8
for 1998. Many thanks to Stefan Duncan for this
report.)

(Editor's Note: A "mysterious explosion" rocked
Middletown on April 1, 1907, shaking buildings
and shattering glass, long before the era of
supersonic flight. See Middletown's Penny Press
for April 2, 1907, page one.)

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR HAMPERED BY CLOUD COVER

The Mars Global Surveyor snapped its third picture
of the enigmatic Cydonia region on April 24, 1998.
The new photo shows "The City" and was shot from
an altitude of 244 miles (392 kilometers).

However, cloud cover in the Martian skies foiled
Surveyor's attempts to find and photograph the
marooned Pathfinder lander and the Viking 1 and
Viking 2 landers.

According to the NASA press release, "Raw data
indicated that the (Pathfinder) lander was not visible due
to a thick haze" although land features close to the site,
such as Twin Peaks, were visible.

"Viking 1 lander in Chryse Planitia was not identified
in images of the site, probably due to imprecise
coordinates used to locate the landing site."

"Winter weather in the northern hemisphere and
heavy cloud cover prevented a view of the Viking 2
lander in Utopia Planitia."

"Further imaging of the Cydonia region and the
Pathfinder/Viking landing sites will not be feasible"
for a while, as Mars will soon be passing behind the
sun. Solar flares will probably hinder the radio
communications between Earth and the Mars
Global Surveyor. (Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp
for the NASA news release.)

SHUTTLE BABY RATS DIE OF UNKNOWN CAUSES

The space shuttle Columbia's Neurolab mission
got a new lease on life last weekend as Commander
Richard Searloss patched up a malfunctioning air
cleansing system.

"A leaky valve caused the shuttle's carbon
dioxide removal unit to shut down late Friday,
threatening to cut short the two-week research mission
explaining how the nervous system develops and
functions in space."

"Using a screwdriver and tape, he removed one end
of a small hose, blocked it with tape to bypass the
leaky valve, and reinstalled it."

"He told flight controllers that the system was 'cool
and copacetic,' and compared his handiwork to auto
repair."

(Editor's Comment: Were I aboard that shuttle, I'd be
awfully glad that Mr. and Mrs. Searloss let Richard
take auto shop in high school.)

On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, NASA reported that
"about half of the baby rats aboard the space shuttle
Columbia have died unexpectedly...The rats, which were
9 days old, when Columbia blasted off April 17, were
test subjects for experiments to learn about how the
absence of gravity affects the development of the human
brain and nervous system."

"NASA officials said more than 40 of the baby rats
have died, apparently because their mothers were
unable or unwilling to nurse them. Scientists had
expected 11 to 14 deaths through natural causes
during the mission."

On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, NASA's chief
veterinarian, Dr. Joseph Bielitzki, "said 50 of the 96
baby rats have died aboard Columbia since the
launch April 17," adding that "Columbia's crew is
doing everything possible to prevent more deaths."

The crew attempted to keep the baby rats
alive by feeding them a blend of milk extract and
Gatorade.

"Mary Beth Sweetland, research director with
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),
accused NASA of being unable 'to keep animals alive
on the ground or in space.'" (See USA Today for
April 27, 1998, "Astronaut's handiwork preserves
mission;" and April 28, 1998, "Rats Die in Space;"
and April 29, 1998, "NASA Criticized.")

CASSINI BYPASSES VENUS ON FIRST LAP OF ITS VOYAGE

On Sunday, April 26, 1998, the Cassini spacecraft
zoomed past the planet Venus, adding another 16,300
miles per hour (21,080 kilometers per hour) to its
speed and shortening its flight time to Saturn.

Cassini was launched in October 1997 for a
seven-year, 2.2 billion-mile journey. "The plutonium-
powered spacecraft will spend four years exploring
Saturn, its rings and frozen moons. It's carrying the
European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which
will land on Titan, the largest of those moons."

Cassini passed within 176 miles (281 kilometers)
of Venus and used the planet's gravity to achieve a
higher flight speed.

"'All indications are that the spacecraft did
exactly what we expected,' said Ronald Draper,
Deputy Program Manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory" in Pasadena, California.

"A second Venus 'gravity assist' is set for
June 24, 1999, followed by a close pass of the
Earth in August 1999 and another past Jupiter
in 2000. Each will add speed to allow Cassini's
arrival at Saturn on July 1, 2004." (See the
New York Daily News for April 27, 1998.)

(Editor's Comment: Cassini is now traveling at
a flight speed of 87,000 miles per hour (139,000
kilometers per hour). In the past seven days,
the spacecraft has gone 2,088,000 miles (3,340,800
kilometers) beyond Venus. Now that it's well
away from Venus's shine, it might be visible by
telescope. Venus can best be seen at 4 a.m.
in the eastern sky, about 10 degrees above the
horizon. Just above it and to the right is Jupiter.
Amateur astronomers, let us know if you spot it.)

from the UFO Files...1937: MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS SEEN ON MARS

"On May 30, 1937, during a part of the interval
between 4h 35m and 6h 0m G.C.T., while Mars was
being observed through a 12-inch aluminized
reflector, 250 magnification, with unusually good
seeing, what appeared to be a series of bright flashes
was seen, extending across the south polar cap about
one degree north of the southern rim of the disk."

"They were irregularly intermittent and were estimated
to be about one magnitude brighter than the rest of the
(polar) cap. They were entirely unexpected, but once
they had been seen became the chief concern of the
observation period."

"Measured from the drawings and the photographs
the thickness of the south polar cap on the central
meridian was about one degree, 87. The flashes
extended almost midway between the northern edge
of the cap and the southern rim of the disk. A line
of tiny white spots seemed to extend across the cap,
some of the spots coalescing to swell into a
brilliant white spot which quickly became yellow,
then red-yellow, the phenomenon passing from left
to right across the polar cap." (See Popular Astronomy
volume 40, page 430 for 1937, "Apparent Flashes Seen
on Mars" by Latimer J. Wilson. Reprinted in THE MOON
AND THE PLANETS: A CATALOGUE OF
ASTRONOMICAL ODDITIES, compiled by William
R. Corliss, The Sourcebook Project, Glen Arm, Md.,
1985, page 221.)

FUN UFO WEBSITES:

Dr. Timothy Parker of JPL offers a website with a
new view of the Pathfinder site on Mars. It's in 3-D!
Check out Big Crater and Twin Peaks with your
3-D glasses. Even an old red-and-green pair from
the 1950s will do. It's at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/parker/analglyph.html

Also you can try http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/4_25_98_pathfinder_release/index.html

Angel Gutierrez has his UFO site open at
http://www.ciberia.net/~nonsia/index.htm

For more on the current flap in New South Wales,
Australia, check out http://www.nor.com.au/users/stingray/latesite.htm

Was the Cydonia region on Mars hit by a NATO
nuclear bomb in 1993? Kent Steadman explores
this theory at http://eagle-net.org/phikent/orbit/april/mystery.html

Don't miss our parent site, UFOINFO, which
now has direct links to Australian UFO Reports and
Experiences. Access the site at this URL:
http://www.ufoinfo.com

Back issues of UFO ROUNDUP can be read
and downloaded at http://www.ufoinfo.com/roundup

On this date, May 3, 1765, Pennsylvania
physician Dr. John Morgan opened the first medical
school in the USA at the College of Philadelphia.

That's it for this week. We'll be back next weekend
with more saucer news from "the paper that goes home--
UFO ROUNDUP." See you then.

UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 1998 by Masinaigan
Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news
items from UFO ROUNDUP on their websites or in
newsgroups provided that they credit the newsletter and
its editor by name and list the date of issue in which
the item first appeared.